Morgan County won its first league title since 2017 last Friday
Morgan County got a taste of revenge this past Friday by defeating Harlem to capture the Region 4-AAA championship.
Last year, Harlem came into Madison and left Bill Corry Stadium with a 34-17 win over the Bulldogs to capture the region title, so this past week’s 35-21 victory was special for Clint Jenkins.
“Just proud for our kids, proud for our program,” Morgan County head coach told the Lake Oconee News after the win over Harlem. “It was just a hard-fought game, and they (Harlem) are a good football team. We had some adversity, and we had to overcome it. Again, just proud of our guys.”
Morgan County captured its first region title since 2017 with the win over Harlem. The Bulldogs now enter the Class 3A playoffs as the top seed from Region 4.
However, it was not easy, though, as Jenkins mentioned.
Morgan County faced some adversity. Harlem also played a hard-fought game against the Bulldogs and even led at one point late in the second quarter. Still, Morgan County battled and eventually held a 21-14 lead at the half, and it didn’t trail again.
Christian Monfort started the night for the Bulldogs by picking off a pass from Harlem’s Evan Evangelista. A few plays later, Monfort scored from five yards out to give Morgan County a lead.
Harlem quickly responded by scoring on its next two drives with rushing touchdowns from Cory Boyd and Evangelista, giving the home Bulldogs a 14-7 advantage at the end of the first period.
Late in the second quarter, Morgan County tied the game as senior Antavious Elder scored on a two-yard rush. The Bulldogs then forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Monfort recovered it.
Morgan County regained the lead on the next play with some trickery. Ty Tillery took a flea-flicker and tossed a 33-yard bomb to wide receiver Jaylen Elder in the end zone to retake the lead.
According to Jenkins, Monfort sparked the Bulldogs’ quick turnaround with his play-making abilities.
“Christian did a good job but also jumped offsides on a 4th-and-5. That’s youth,” Jenkins joked. “But we’re excited about him. He’s a great player, but as I said, you’ve got to take both sides of that.”
Morgan started with the ball in the second half and scored, extending its lead to 28-14. Bulldogs’ quarterback Talan Fuller connected with Tillery for a 56-yard touchdown strike for the score.
Harlem didn’t go away, though.
The Bulldogs of Columbia County made it a one-possession game as Evangelista tossed a touchdown to his brother, Elijah, at the 10:57 mark of the fourth quarter.
Morgan County running back Jay Dorsey then put the team on his back. The senior broke off a 59-yard run and crossed the goal line a few plays later, giving the Bulldogs a 35-21 lead after the PAT.
In the final eight minutes, Morgan County’s defense forced a turnover on downs, and senior defensive back Zach Moore intercepted an Evangelista pass. His effort solidified the Bulldogs' win.
Jenkins acknowledged the turnovers his team forced were the difference-makers in the game.
“They were all big. The fourth-down stops we got on them were also big,” Jenkins said. “They have a great offense, with the quarterback being the centerpiece and leader. They’ve also got great skill players. So when we got those stops and forced turnovers, it was great because it wasn’t easy.”
Morgan County gave up 306 yards of total offense to Harlem but forced four turnovers. The Bulldogs from Columbia County were also 0-for-5 on fourth-down conversions, which was crucial.
Offensively, Morgan County’s balanced attack on offense was the right recipe for success last Friday. The Bulldogs racked up 489 yards of total offense (235 passing, 254 rushing) against Harlem.
Jenkins thought his offense executed its game plan, which helped lead his team to a win.
“We stalled out a couple of times, but we knew we needed to get a couple of first downs and chew some clock. We did that,” Jenkins said. “Heck, we probably scored too quickly (in the second quarter) because we’d have to right back out on offense, but it was a great night for our kids.”
Next, Morgan County (9-1) will host No. 4 seed Monroe (6-3) of Region 1 on Friday at 7:30 p.m.